Nurses’ and midwives’ critical role to the provision of health services in the Seychelles strongly articulated at the launching of the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”

Group photo of delegates at the launching ceremony

Seychelles 21 February 2020 - Nurses and midwives are the backbone of every health system. They account for 50% of the global health workforce, their roles diverse from devoting their lives to caring for mothers and children, giving lifesaving immunizations and health advice and looking after all age group including the older people. They are often, the first point of care in the communities. However, the nursing’s contribution to the achievements in health has received limited recognition to date.

Polio-Nigeria leaves no stone unturned, targets over 55 million children in house-to-house nationwide campaign.

Health Workers in Riverine areas of Ondo State, Nigeria

Abuja, 20 February, 2020 - “My son Aliyu Abubakar is two months old, this is the first time he is receiving vaccination, going out there to take him was quite a hassle. I am glad the house-to house team is here to save us waiting time at vaccination post. My other children have taken complete doses of vaccine and are very healthy,  this is the reason my husband insisted Aliyu gets vaccinated upon seeing your people”, says  Hauwa Mohammed, a mother of three children at Wassa Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, Federal Capital Territory (FCT). 

New Cancer Cases on the decrease in Mauritius

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Hon. K. K. S. Jagutpal handing over a copy of the National Cancer Registry Report 2018 to Dr L. Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius
New cancer cases are on the decrease in Mauritius.  According to the National Cancer Registry Report 2018, released on the occasion of the World Cancer Day 2020, new cancer cases have decreased by 3.3% in 2018 as compared to 2017. The three most common types of cancer among females are breast cancer, colorectal and ovaries cancers while prostate, colorectal and lung cancers are more prevalent among males in Mauritius.  There were 2380 new cancer cases, that is, 959 among males and 1421 among females in 2018 in Mauritius, which represents a general decrease of 2.8 % of new cancer cases. The Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Hon. Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal,  during the official launching of activities to mark World Cancer Day 2020 at L’Escalier Mediclinic, made an appeal to the population to go for free screening services available across the country.  Dr Hon. K. K. S. Jagutpal pointed out the fact that “early detection of cancer greatly increases the chances for successful treatment and reduces the risks of premature death”.   

Update on Uganda’s preparedness activities on the 2019- Coronavirus outbreak

Coronavirus

Kampala, 20 February 2020: – The Ministry of Health working with partners has concluded investigations into rumours that have been circulating on social media alleging that there is a suspected case of the 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in construction camps both in Buliisa and Masindi districts.
 
A joint Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance team visited 4 construction camps in Masindi- Paraa road and the 5th camp in Buliisa and established that:

Nigeria strengthens capacity to address impact of climate change on health. 

One of the flood-affected areas in northern Nigeria

Abuja, 19 February 2020 - Mr Ayeo Olomiete, a health officer from Bayelsa State says “my community has been experiencing flood which always affects the entire area, displacing families and causing damage to health facilities almost every year. Before, we neither understood what the problem was, nor know what exact action to take.” 

Ethiopia passes landmark smoking excise bill

Man smoking a cigarette
The Ethiopian Parliament has passed landmark legislation with the express aim of curbing smoking in the country.  As a result of the legislation, Ethiopia has now introduced a mixed-excise system on cigarettes in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).  This involves a 30% tax rate of the cost of producing cigarettes, in addition to a specific excise rate of eight Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (USD$ 0.25) on each individual packet.

Empowering Health Workers on Child Growth Assessment

Mr Christopher Raboude, Nutritionist, Rodrigues Island, receiving the Certificate of Participation from Mrs Aryamah Doomun, Chief Nutritionist. In the background, Dr I. Nawoor, Ag Director Health Services, Dr L. Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius and Dr H. Bekele, Nutrition Advisor, WHO IST/ESA
Nutritionists, Public Health Nursing Officers, Nursing Officers, Chief and Principal Midwives and Health Care Assistants in the Republic of Mauritius have been empowered during a Training of Facilitators on child growth assessment and WHO Child Growth Standard from 10-13 February 2020 at Gold Crest, Quatre Bornes. The main objective of the training was to empower health workers on growth assessment using additional indicators, data analysis and reporting of anthropometric data in the context of strengthening the National Nutrition Surveillance System in Mauritius and Rodrigues.  This important capacity building workshop was conducted by the Ministry of Health and Wellness in collaboration with the World Health Organization in response to the need to have a holistic information system that can continuously collect, analyze and interpret data related to nutrition.  Dr Hana Bekele, Nutrition Advisor from the WHO Regional Office for Africa/Intercountry Support Team for East and Southern Africa (IST/ESA), facilitated the training.